Humesha | ✔️

Chapter 28

Forever And Always?

N A N D I N I

I coughed a little, feeling tired again. "Nandini, you did not have to do this. I could have done it myself," Mukti argued as we got into the jeweller's shop.

"Shut up. My best friends are getting married and the least I could do was help you pick up your groom's ring. I've come already and there's no way I'm going back, so suck it up already," I scolded her and she nodded her head in disbelief as we settled ourselves.

The jeweller knew Mukti already and he started showing her the designs she had shortlisted but I couldn't take off my eyes from the diamond that shone in my engagement finger. This was a week back, when Manik proposed me, making me the happiest woman in this world, but we settled on making it a promise ring.

Being Manik Malhotra's girlfriend was the best feeling in this world, and this week had to be the best week of my life. I shifted in with Manik because we both lived alone, and then our life changed. From breakfast to dinner, we stuck together. We used to go for his recordings in the morning, and then to Murthy Industries in the afternoon and evening where he used to teach me better business. We often cooked dinners together, which was him cooking and me learning, and nights were reserved just for the two of us. We always started with a movie or a game, but ended up on bed. We were like magnets, always getting drawn to each other.

Life even changed for Mukti and Zubin. They wanted to get married as soon as possible. Manik was disappointed because he wanted to take time making everything perfect for his sister's wedding, but when I told him how they've already been separated for years now and don't want to miss a second with each other, he understood. I still remember what he told me, "I can't imagine staying away from you for five days even, they did this for five years".

I had laughed, and then I puked. I had tried cooking the previous day, and I was sure I had got a bad food poisoning. But I was stable after that, until yesterday when a sudden pang of tiredness, stomach ache and vomit hit me.

The wedding was tomorrow, and I didn't want to get sick today— no chance. So I immediately had gone to the doctor, getting a few tests done. Manik insisted on coming along, but he had to go with Zubin to get his tux ready.

"How's this?" Mukti's eyes snapped me out of my thoughts of the most perfect week and I flipped towards her, looking at the ring she held in her hand. It was a plain gold band with studded diamonds, something that Zubin would totally love as his wedding ring. "Perfect," I knew it was.

They were having a white wedding tomorrow, in the hall that was beside the forest. It was deserted most of the times, so we got it easily— or atleast that's what Manik and Zubin told us, but I'm pretty sure they bribed the owner into paying double the amount for getting it ready in such a short time span. They loved showing off they had money, and no matter what we girls told them, they didn't care.

I was lost in my thoughts again when my eyes laid on a simple platinum clad ring, with a small opening in the centre, like an infinity band with a loop and the second I laid my eyes on it, I knew it was perfect. As I held the ring closer to me, I loved how philosophical it could get. It was an infinity with a loop, indicating every forever has an end, nothing can go on for infinity. Every thing on earth will once turn to fossils, even humans return to ashes, but it's the infinity we live in the finite days that matter.

I looked up at the jeweller, "ma'am, that's the infinity collection, limited edition; one of the costliest we have around, and it's already booked by a lady who came an hour ago, we're sorry we have no duplicates," he said and I nodded.